Favorite Teddy Roosevelt Quotes (poached from brainyquote.com)

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education. Theodore Roosevelt 

A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues. Theodore Roosevelt 

A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user. Theodore Roosevelt 

Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. Theodore Roosevelt 

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones. Theodore Roosevelt 

Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike. Theodore Roosevelt 

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Theodore Roosevelt 

Speak softly, and carry a big stick. Theodore Roosevelt 

Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft. Theodore Roosevelt 

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt 

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt 

Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been effort stored up in the past. Theodore Roosevelt 

I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man. Theodore Roosevelt 

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character! Theodore Roosevelt 

I don't pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being. Theodore Roosevelt 

If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month. Theodore Roosevelt 

It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things. Theodore Roosevelt 

It is difficult to make our material condition better by the best law, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad laws. Theodore Roosevelt 

Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering. Theodore Roosevelt 

No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it. Theodore Roosevelt 

No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expedience. Theodore Roosevelt 

Probably the greatest harm done by vast wealth is the harm that we of moderate means do ourselves when we let the vices of envy and hatred enter deep into our own natures. Theodore Roosevelt 

Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big. Theodore Roosevelt 

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt 

The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats. Theodore Roosevelt 

The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight. Theodore Roosevelt 

The government is us; we are the government, you and I. Theodore Roosevelt 

The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants. Theodore Roosevelt 

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life. Theodore Roosevelt 

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public. Theodore Roosevelt 

La Pays Sauvage

Literally, "The Wild Country" or "The Wilderness" in French.  Being in France does make me long for the openness of the American West I love so much.  France cannot be thought of as Paris or Marseilles all over, for there is much countryside, but it is tamed, settled in so many ways.  Yet, I have seen online, with the help of French friends at work, that there are adventurous places to visit and hike.  I am trying to hook up with some of these hiking clubs in the area (les clubs de randonee) to get to know the countryside.

The American West still has places that are unspoiled, and a wild history as part of its adventurous story.  That, I think, is what I find missing here.  Everything has been settled for so long, and one is never far from a village or town.  All the roads are paved, as are most bicycle trails.  Certainly, such conveniences enables access to such areas (did you know there are volcanoes in France?), and therefore I have no excuse not to explore this country and its rural regions, but I can only picture me there, in that place, at that time.  This is good for my own memory of the visit, but it is not like walking up the Hole in the Wall Pass, either.

From what I have seen on the web, there is indeed more to France than Paris, and most Frenchmen (not Parisiens) will be quick to inform you, nay, insist to you, the same sentiment.  I think I will ride with the Frenchmen-not-Parisiens on this one...

Mark

Thieves, beggars, "democratic" pillaging

I grow very concerned when I hear of Americans talking about how "the government" should do this or that for them. They seem to forget that the government has nothing outside of the people. Somehow, we've reached a point in our society where we want the government to steal from other Americans so that they might have benefits. Or at least, more benefits. Where is the attitude of personal responsibility? We find every exception in a person's life to excuse their underachieving; about socioeconomic conditions, about how a person was raised, about education quality, or worse yet, how much money was spent on education. Let's face it, education requires little money to teach a person how to read, how to write, and how to do mathematics. With these tools they can accomplish anything. Yet, we act as if these are new social reasons to head down a path of stealing from one group of people to buy the votes of others. None of these things are new, they have been with mankind from the beginning. Even in the earliest days of our own government, of our own nation, these issues existed. Living in liberty was about giving us the opportunity to make our own destiny, without excuse, and without blame.

As a person who grew up in very much a middle-class family, perhaps even slightly lower than middle-class family, I knew that we would have to work hard to change our state. I have been working since I was 15 years of age, when I was putting in 60 hours a week at my father's service station during the summer. Believe me, I got all the dirty jobs. I could see different people come and go to that station and realize a cold hard fact: those that work hard, and got educated, were better off than those who did neither. My life is in my hands even then, as to what I was going to be like, what kind of life I wanted a chance to have. I knew I would never be wealthy, but I also knew I had a shot at moving to slightly above middle-class. But it would require education, and a degree in demand enough to get above-average pay. To tell you the truth, I almost blew it. I got distracted by, well let's say, the distractions one often finds in college. My performance was not as good as it should have been, much to the dismay of my parents. At one time, I thought about dropping out. I did not. I kept going, slowly correcting my bad habits, although there were a lot of successes and failures in that area. Eventually, I graduated with a degree in engineering, and achieved gainful employment. I completely understood my under-performance in college. It was my own fault. No one else's. I determined to not make the same mistake in my work life. Some might suggest I've overdone it in some areas. But I have a responsibility to my family to work as hard as I can to provide for them and to ensure a future for them. I've been with the same company for 30 years, not many people can say that. I know if they let me go tomorrow, it would be up to me to decide my fate, my future, my family's future.

America is a great country, because it encourages freedom, because it encourages liberty, because it encourages personal responsibility as a part of its fabric. There is little wonder that such great achievements in technology and economics are achieved in this country. Such an environment brings out the very best in us. But there are those who do not want to take responsibility, who want to live off the achievements of others, to demand their share of the American dream at the expense of others. This is patently against everything liberty and freedom are about. I would rather those people simply leave the United States and go to a country where the government is distinctly separate from the people and they can live as its wards, as its slaves, and take no responsibility for their lives, and not be a burden to those who do.

Those who demand that the government provide them benefits at the expense of others are nothing more than thieves, nothing more than beggars, who simply ask their elected officials to do the dirty works of pillaging and panhandling for them. People who receive any government assistance, outside of Social Security for which an individual contributes, should not be allowed to vote and perpetuate their burden on working men and women and families.  And we as individuals should take care of our own and not forsake our responsibility to family members in need, as opposed to thrusting them upon every other family in the nation via "government assistance".

Yes, I believe in minimal government, as did our Founding Fathers; yes, I believe in personal responsibility, as did our Founding Fathers; yes, I believe the Constitution was written to protect the individual from the necessary evil that is government, as did our Founding Fathers when they wrote it; yes, I believe thieves and beggars have overcome our government and through power-hungry and therefore corrupt elected officials are pillaging the very type of people who made America great.

Liberty is gasping

Marxism has its first real stranglehold in America. More freedoms will fall and more state control will arise as a result of this legislation (listen to how often the word 'force' is used in describing the bill's 'provisions' -- nothing American about that word); the government has now taken control of the American people, not vice versa as was the Founding Fathers' intent.

Republicanism's future is bleak. The Jeffersonian dream of freedom from government has all but died with the passage of this Marxist bill. The American dream is now on life-support. One's reward for hard work and income growth is to be forced to give the fruits of their labor with those who have no such drive. We have four groups to thank for these severe illnesses and demise: Democrats, White House, GOP, and the ignorant Americans who for 70+ years have considered the government part of the solution. Even conservatives such as Christians are to blame, who long ago abdicated their responsibilities toward those in need to the government, in the name of "our Christian heritage".

Nothing can be done about the past. What remains is the present and its influence on the future. The GOP gave up on Reagan's revolution as soon as he left office. They have become just another self-serving pro-big government party. They are not the answer. In truth, the last bastion of hope are the States of America. It is time to pressure our state governments to reject this attack on freedom as a breeching of the 10th Amendment. It is up to the States to fight the constitutionality of this bill. It is time for we the people to use our vote to oust the traitors in both parties, at local, state, and federal levels. It is time for us to ready ourselves for peaceful secession. Liberty is gasping, and only those who love Her and dare live with Her tempestuous behavior can save Her.

Those that defer their own responsibilities for the sake of a nanny state deserve no freedom. Those who are being forced to pay for this beast are being punished for realizing the American dream. Let the revolution begin.

Why did America become?

Have we forgotten the answer to this question? Has the lame excuse of "industrialization" become the means by which the answer slipped from our memories?

Over 1/3 of Americans favor socialism, or at least do not think it a bad thing? How can this be, especially in America? Experiments in socialism have failed around the world and throughout time, yet, some think it can be successful?

The European model is simple: The government is the nation, and therefore owns everything, even your wages. The government decides how much it needs, and how much you can keep. The government knows what is best for all. You are a subject of the government. The garnishment of your wages for re-distribution to others with less is mandated. You are safe, because the government will provide everyone with a minimal level of provision, whether we are talking healthcare, wages, housing -- whatever. The government will take care of you, and in effect, owns you.

The American (in its original form) model is more complex: The people are citizens, own their property and wages, and pay taxes based on mutual agreement. The people are the government. It is the government which is the subject to its people. The people know best, and each are given the opportunity to provide for themselves, to whatever degree of provision their aspirations and ambitions take them. Charity toward others is an option. The government is constrained to provide liberty for all, a tempestuous way of life for certain (too much for some), and realizes unequal outcomes as a consequence. Each person is free to live and die according to their own choices and decisions in life.

Today, however, there are at least a third of Americans who no longer have the stomach for living in liberty, for living in the American system. They want a hybrid system, where they can elect government officials who will write laws and policies such that the government provides for them, under the guise that the "government" should provide for all. They are nothing more that lazy beggars, asking the "government" to do their panhandling for them. They do not deserve the life of liberty, and should move elsewhere where being a subject or ward of the state is a part of the system (you can not work a day in your life and receive $3000/month in unemployment in Norway). When Benjamin Franklin stated "Those who are willing to surrender freedom for security deserve neither", he was not merely mentioning security from flying musket balls, for his statement is applicable in many areas of life (we have become slaves to insurance-based systems -- auto, health, whatever -- and typically pay more in premiums than the benefits we receive).

Eventually, however, socialism fails for one major reason: those who provide its financial resources are eventually crushed under socialism's burdens. People who think someone else should be responsible for their lives, responsible for their decisions in life, and responsible for leveling the economic playing field for them have lost sight of the glory that is liberty and being American. They prefer to be enslaved to a lessor, but "safer" system, and are willing to steal from those who work and pay taxes to get it. They vilify the industrious, and exalt the irresponsible. For such people I can say but one thing: regardless of where you were born, if you do not have the fortitude to be an American, go somewhere else because this land is not for you.

Christmas, and other politically incorrect stuff...

America was founded on the idea of protecting the individual FROM THE GOVERNMENT, hence the Constitution's Bill of Rights, but not from each other. The individual is protected from the mob rule of a "pure democracy", yet between one another, we must agree to certain laws, none of which can violate the Bill of Rights.

We have, however, allowed such nonsense as "Political Correctness" to not only stymie our freedom of speech (1st Amendment), but it has paved they way for us to be judged by our thoughts, a la "Hate Crime" legislation. Now we are not only judged criminal by our actions, but our opinions of the victim. The Bill of Rights protects my freedom to be a jerk, a bigot, or whatever. It also protects the rights of those around me to have nothing to do with me for having such attitudes. Just as PC is an attack on free speech (just because you do not like it does not mean the other person is denied their right to say whatever they wish), so "Hate Crime" legislation is an attack on equality under the law. It is saying some people are inherently worth more because of both innate and chosen attributes, and it moves us further toward a "1984" Thought Crime justice system, or even a "Minority Report" world of "crime" prevention. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. How quickly it is to slip from the seemingly kindergarten world of PC speech to a complete dishevelness of the Bill of Rights.

Christmas -- CHRISTmas -- even has the Name of the One to be celebrated in its name, yet, we are called upon to ignore this fact, and many do, for the government or mobs to demand it is a violation of freedom of religion. In this case, it is the government and mobs crossing the line and attacking those of us who celebrate the Christ of Christmas. Should the "government" allow religious displays on "their" grounds? Hmmm, whatever happened to the Lincolnesque "...government OF the People, BY the People, FOR the People..."? And sorry, there is no "separation of church and state" in the Constitution, only that the government cannot ESTABLISH a religion or church (like the state churches of Europe, but please, go look up the word "establish" in your Funk & Wagnell's). As a matter of fact, any religion should be able to display on government grounds, IMHO.

Underlying the issues of PC is the desire for "the government" to be wrangled from The People and established (aren't you glad you looked that word up?) as a ruling entity apart from the people, where a few will rule the many. PC is an instrument of oppression of liberty. None of us SHOULD behave badly toward one another, but we all have the right to do so. Case in point, the far left response to Christians and conservatives -- their ideological and personal attacks at both go unabated under the 1st Amendment, but to attack them in the same fashion can invoke criminal sanction due to the PC ideology (see where "Hate Crime" comes back into play?).

Why desire smaller government, significantly smaller (cut by more than half) than we have now? Because larger government, regardless of the party flag, is always oppressive, and the Founding Fathers knew this fact...

Formalized Marxism is at the brink

Once the government has control of our health program, they also have control over our personal activities. Guns are unhealthy; tax gun ownership until few can own one. Cars are unhealthy; cram everybody into buses for long germy commutes. Suburbs are unhealthy; consolidate everyone into collective city apartments. Only government-issued foods are healthy; wait in long lines to received staple foods. Being Christian is not healthy (they are the reason we are an unhealthy nation); additional taxes must be paid if you chose to be Christian.

You see, these things sound absurd and have no basis in fact, but an over-arching government can say and impose what it wishes, even marginalizing the Bill of Rights under the pretense of guarding our health -- because we cannot care for ourselves! Give people in power an inch, and they will take the Interstate System. Abortion was passed to make it legal for the 2% of pregnancies where rape, incest, or the life of the mother was at risk. One in four pregnancies have been terminated because it has been deemed that pregnancy itself represents a substantial risk to the life of the mother. Why would ANY person capable of critical thought not realize the same will happen with government controlled health care?

Pillars of Marxism: media control (volunteered), health control (Medicare and this current push), gun control (coming oppressive taxation), thought control (hate crime legislation), property control (taxation of people and eminent domain) -- the State must become life and death to every member of the State.

Personally, I do not wish to live in such a nation. I prefer the tempests of Liberty to the comfort of being a ward of the State.